Cheer up, lad. It’s the best of times at Northwestern. And Illini get their man, under-the-radar Underwood.

You know, the one in Northwestern gear who seemed to think the Wildcats had come to bodily harm rather than abuse by Gonzaga and by referees failing to see an obvious goal-tending call.

Yes, Northwestern lost in wrenching fashion Saturday, when a powerful comeback was stalled by the missed goal-tending call, and the insult-to-injury technical call on Chris Collins for trying to point out the obvious.

Would the Wildcats have won if the goal-tending call had been made? We’ll never know.

It sure would have been nice to find out. But somebody needs to find that kid and tell him this was great stuff by Collins and the Wildcats, who made their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance by proving they belonged.

They were tough, beating Vanderbilt and regrouping from a 22-point deficit to give Gonzaga a real scare. They were as entertaining as could be.

And they return a core of players that promises to give them another NCAA shot very quickly—like next year.

So relax, young man. No matter how devastated you were by the Gonzaga setback, you should know that this is the absolute best of times for Northwestern basketball.

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NEW ILLINI HOOPS COACH

Brad Underwood, who bolted from Oklahoma State after just one year, looks like a promising hire as Illinois’ new coach. The rest of this article is available to subscribers only – to become a subscriber click here.